Research

Research today is regarded as one of the cornerstones of education and is an important component for quality education. In Hong Kong, research has continuously been nurtured by the UGC and its Research Grants Council (RGC) through the allocation of recurrent grants and competitive research funding schemes. We have laid a solid foundation for research in Hong Kong.

The UGC provides research funding for UGC-funded universities by means of a Block Grant. The Research element, i.e. the Research Portion, constitutes about 23% of the Block Grant. On top of the Research Portion, the UGC provides funding under the Block Grant to support the provision of research postgraduate (RPg) places.

To promote research excellence, the UGC has been gradually allocating the Research Portion to its funded universities on a more competitive basis according to their success in obtaining peer reviewed RGC Earmarked Research Grants. Over a period of nine years (starting from the 2012/13 academic year), about 50% of the Research Portion will be allocated in this manner. The remainder is allocated with regard to the universities’ performance in the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE).

The RGC, which operates under the aegis of the UGC, is responsible for advising on and funding academic research in the UGC-funded universities. For further details on the work of the RGC and the various funding schemes under its administration, please visit the RGC homepage.